Underdog
Underdog is the main character of his self-titled animated television series, which aired on NBC from 1964 to 1973, with 124 episodes. Normally a humble and lovable fellow named Shoeshine Boy, the character transforms into his heroic alter ego whenever his love interest, Sweet Polly Purebred, has been victimized; Underdog generally must foil the schemes of various villains, such as Simon Bar Sinister or Riff Raff, in order to save her. All of his dialogue on the show, with few exceptions, is in rhyming couplets. History with the Macy's Parade Balloon Underdog first appeared in Macy's Parade as balloon in 1965, only one year after his television show started. He was accompanied by an Underdog float for his debut. Like many balloons from this time period, he became an instant classic and flew for many more years even though his TV Show ended in 1973. The balloon was eventually retired in 1984, and made 20 parade appearances overall. Over time, the balloon deteriorated beyond repair, but his signature "U" still exists and is framed in Macy's Parade Studio.1 Float In addition, an Underdog-themed float debuted alongside the balloon in 1965, and featured many of the show's characters and villains. Unlike the balloon, this float only made a few appearances before retiring sometime in the late 60's. As a character A walk-around version of Underdog appeared on the "75th Parade Superstars" float, along with other characters who had balloons that had been retired, such as Popeye, Kermit the Frog, and Ice Skating Snoopy. Appearances in popular culture While no new Underdog balloon has been made for the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, due to several conflicts with Classic Media, it made a couple appearances in outside pop-culture. * In 1994, the first Thanksgiving-themed episode of NBC's sitcom Friends centered around the accidental release of the Underdog balloon, which caused everyone to go to the roof to watch and get locked out of the apartment. * In 2008, the Underdog balloon made an appearance in a CGI ad for Coca-Cola that aired during Super Bowl XLII, where he chases a Coca-Cola bottle balloon through New York City, alongside a balloon of Stewie Griffin from Family Guy, a show that was never actually represented in the Parade. Accidents * In 1971, Underdog couldn't appear at all due to very strong winds and rainfall, which caused all of the balloons to be grounded. * In 1972, Underdog went out of control 2 Times at Central Park West and Times Square. He first almost crashed to people at Central Park West and second he was pushed around by strong winds at Times Square, but the balloon wasn't damaged * High winds affected the 1975 Parade. Because of this, wind gusts coming off of the roofs of skyscrapers caused handlers to lose control of the Underdog balloon, sending him crashing into a streetlight tearing off his right ear, after this his forehead and right ear were deflating. Because of this, he was removed from the Parade, alongside Astronaut Snoopy and the Weeble. * In the 1976 parade, Underdog's right hand and left leg were punctured from lampposts around Times Square. * In the 1978 parade, Underdog's right ear and left finger were deflated. * In the 1980 Parade, Underdog's right ear was deflated. * In the 1984 parade, Underdog's right finger was a little deflated. References * Some time during the 2010's, the Macy's Parade Studio team took Underdog out for a test to see his condition. However, upon inflating the balloon, his air chambers were too rotted to hold helium, and were likely beyond repair. Due to this, he had to be thrown away with only his chest surviving. Gallery Gallery: Underdog Category:Macy's Balloon Characters Category:Dogs Category:Cartoon Characters Category:1965 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Category:Retired Balloons Category:Balloons that were in a accident Category:1960s Balloons Category:Male Balloons Category:1960s Characters Category:Floats Category:Retired Floats Category:Parade Favorites Category:TV Characters Category:Comic Book Characters Category:Balloons that are unlikely to return Category:Balloons With Floats To Category:Goodyear Balloons Category:Balloons using the most helium Category:Superheroes Category:Animals Category:Balloons used outside of the parade